


The Last Knight

by Just_Doing_His_Best



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24247345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Doing_His_Best/pseuds/Just_Doing_His_Best
Relationships: Cal Kestis/Merrin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

The Emperor was not a man known for his patience, nor his mercy. Vader knew what he was walking into when Darth Sidious called him to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, when he entered the Imperial Throne room, and when the bands of force lightning ripped into him, punishment for his failure on Nur. Not only had terrorists openly attacked the headquarters of the Inquisitorious, they had stolen a holocron laden with the names of thousands of force sensitives, thousands of potential servants of the Dark Side lost. For now. As Vader's shuttle returned to the star destroyer hanging in orbit above, he let the anger build. The pain. He added it to the deep and bottomless pit of sorrow that made up the spirit of Darth Vader, that pushed away and burned down the last vestiges of the weak Skywalker. The Emperor had given him a mission. Find the holocron. Retrieve it. Kill the Jedi. The Emperor was not patient, not merciful, but Vader? Vader was worse.

* * *

The _Stinger Mantis_ slid out of hyperspace and into the tapestry of stars and lights that made up realspace. The ship was in a particularly empty portion of the Expansion Region. Cal thanked the Force that they hadn't bumped into any Imperial patrols in the Core or Colonies. It had been an _interesting_ few weeks. Cal had become a completely different person than the scrapper on Bracca. He was now a Jedi Knight. _Jedi Knight_. It was still a difficult reality to accept, now from pain, but shock. For years he had hid who he was, what he was, pushing those memories down deep inside. But now that he had embraced them, embraced himself, Cal finally felt he belonged. He had forged a new identity. He had built new memories, happier ones. Ones with friends, with a family. He looked over into the cockpit. Greez was busying himself double and then triple checking the controls, Cere was next to him, calmly reminding him that they were alright. He couldn't imagine the pain Cere had gone through, losing her Padawan to the Dark Side, then watching her be redeemed, only to be cut down by a mechanized monster. And Greez, well, there was something to be said for his bravery, even if it was marred by reluctance. Sure, he could be cowardly, but Cal knew that, when necessary, Greez would always make the right choice. 

Bee-Dee buzzed happily next to Cal, nuzzling his leg until the Jedi pet down to pick him up. Of all the allies Cal had made, none were more faithful than Cordova's little droid. Without BD-1 Cal knew he'd probably have died on Bogano, the Oggdo Bogdo munching on his bones. In his darkest moments BD-1 was there, offering help, health, or even just companionship. Cal scratched the little droid head with a smile, and Bee-Dee responded with a noise that could only be described as purring.

"I know, I know we're fine, I'm just checking the, um, engine ignitions" Greez protested loudly, bringing Cal's eyes back up to the cockpit.

"Greez the engines are on." Cere was trying to be as respectful as she could, but Cal could tell she was beginning to get frustrated.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"If the engines are on, then the engine ignition works."

Greez went to retort, only to pause, taking a moment to digest the information.

"Well, that, that's good, one more thing to check off the list. Engine ignitions ignited." Cere let out a long sigh, slumping a bit into her chair. It barely took Greez a second to find another component that needed to be checked. Apparently he had to run a diagnostic on the airlock controls just in case they accidentally opened and sucked the crew into space. Cal could tell that this conversation wouldn't be over soon. He looked at Bee-Dee, and in silent agreement turned around to head back to his room. His eyes immediately locked onto the _Manti's_ newest crew member, kneeling and staring intently at Greez's little galactic garden project.

Cal had mixed feelings about Merrin. Well, maybe mixed isn't the right word. More like confused. As a Jedi, he had always been taught of the dangers of emotion and connection, too be compassionate but separate. But wasn't it these very tenets that had brought down the Jedi Order? That had driven a wedge between them and the galaxy? All Cal knew was that ever since Merrin had joined the crew, whenever he saw a strange tightness would take hold of his chest and he feel a bit light-headed. When she had hugged him after the mission to Nur he had just about passed out. And now that the two of them were essentially trapped in a tiny, closed ship, it seemed that at every moment Cal felt he was just about to burst. Was this love? Just close friendship? Something else? He couldn't ask Cere or Greez. Greez didn't seem like the type with a lot of experience in this field, and even if Cere could help he doubted there was anywhere on the ship they could talk in private. At this point he was torn between dying to get to a planet and some breathing room and not wanting to leave Merrin's side.

Luckily, Merrin had been too engrossed in the menagerie of plants Cal had collected over his adventures to notice him and his mini panic attack. It made sense, of course. Merrin had probably never seen a plant that wasn't red. Dathomir didn't have the greatest biodiversity of the galaxy. Her eyes were wide, and a smile, a real smile, had found its way onto her face. Her smile was practically intoxicating to Cal, and he had to shake himself out of his infatuation before his mind wandered too far. Taking a deep breath, he walked forward, hoping to pass by with little incident and get to his room where he could meditate. There, at least, he could hide from his feelings a bit longer. Unfortunately for Cal, he'd have no such luck.

Just as he had passed her and was on his way to his room, Merrin's arm shot out and grabbed his, spinning him towards her. Cal simultaneously hoped she'd kiss him or kill him. Either way he'd finally escape this emotional cage.

"Cal!" she said, smiling.

"Merrin." Cal said, jokingly. At least he hoped it sounded jokingly. 

"I've been looking at Greez's terrarium here, and I was wondering if you could tell me more about the plants. There's only so much to see on Dathomir." She said it almost sheepishly, like she was embarrassed. Was she blushing? Was Cal loosing his mind? Maybe it was a combination.

"Oh, well, of course Merrin, I'd love too!" Cal had barely managed to steady his heartbeat, only for Merrin's grateful smile to melt him once again.

"Thank you, Cal. Just looking at these plants, I realize there's so much of the galaxy I still don't know." 

"Well, Merrin that makes two of us." Cal responded, smiling. 

Merrin wasted no time. "Alright, Cal, what about this first one?" She pointed at the kalpi, a tall, green plant with a small leaf rounding off the top.

"Well, the Kalpi is from Bogano. Not the most unique plant, but it has its quirks. I think mentioned her master, Eno Cordova, used to make a kind of paste from it."

"Bogano, that is where you met your little machine friend, yes?" BD-1 whizzed excitedly hopping from Cal's shoulder and onto the ground next to Merrin. The nightsister recoiled a little at the little machine's sudden jump, the irony of a powerful witch scared of a small companion droid not lost on Cal.

"Yeah, that's where I met Bee-Dee. He was Cordova's droid before me. Without him I'd probably be dead somewhere on Bogano." He reached out and stroked the droid, who responded with a chorus of pleasant beeps and whistles.

Merrin motioned her hand to Bee-Dee. "May I, um, pet the droid?" The question was so innocent, yet Merrin still managed to seem flustered. Cal was unsure as to how a simple droid could cause a powerful witch like her to blush, but he wasn't about to ask.

"Bee-Dee, is that okay with you?" Cal knew the answer was yes, asking was just a formality. And Bee-Dee made his feelings very clear when he hoped up into the nightsister's lap. Merrin seemed a little taken aback at first, before slowly reaching down and resting a hand on the little droid's head. BD-1 immediately nuzzled up deeper into her arms, and Merrin let out a small laugh as her shoulders released and she finally relaxed. for the next hour Cal recounted his numerous adventures to Merrin and their tangential relationship with the plants before him. How he'd fought elite purge troopers on Zeffo, been tossed into an arena by the Haxion Brood, forged a lightsaber in the heart of Ilum's temple, swung from vines a hundred feet up through the jungles of Kashyyyk, and fought a giant frog monster in the caves of Bogano. As he spoke the tension and fear in his own chest began to fade away, as Cal became absorbed in the moment. Merrin, for her part, didn't miss a beat. She was fully invested in his stories of the ancient Zeffo and their great temples across the galaxy. Finally, Cal reached the end of the terrarium, and thus the end of his adventure. Merrin paused for a moment, reflecting on Cal's story, still holding the purring BD-1 in her lap. Finally, she spoke.

"I'm glad we met, Cal Kestis." It was a simple sentence. Not some drawn out monologue like the great Jedi of old would use, or a multi-layered commentary wielded by the politicians. It was simple. Straightforward. And it left Cal speechless. The tightness now growing in his abdomen and spreading up into his chest, as his head began to spin. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he _needed_ to say, but it wasn't the time. He couldn't. And so he said "I'm glad we met, too, Merrin."

Time seemed to slow for a moment. Everything around Cal vanished. There was just Merrin. Their eyes were locked together, like binary suns, each orbiting the other. Cal's wall began to break, intrusive thoughts slipping through. _Lean forward. Close your eyes._ Slowly, without any input from his mind, Cal's body seemed to shift towards Merrin, and she towards him. He felt warm all over, as though his blood was boiling, but he didn't care anymore. For a moment their lips hovered a mere hairs-length apart. It felt like sitting on a cliff, a simple push sending him deep into the strange and mysterious unknown. He wanted to take that last step, he wanted it more than anything, but he couldn't. Was it fear? His training? It felt like an eternity, just sitting there, waiting for it to happen, neither of them ready to jump. 

Before Cal could even think, klaxons suddenly began blaring, ripping the two's tenuous connection apart. For a moment longer their eyes remained linked, the two blushing like the Dathomir sky, before they pushed themselves to their feet. Bee-Dee chirped, sounding almost disappointed. Cal rushed quickly towards the cockpit.

"Cere, Greez, what's happening?" The two were wildly clicking buttons and controls.

Cere stood up to start messing with a different console. "Someone's beaming us a long range message using an Imperial system. We're trying to block it, but the signal's too strong. It's brute-forcing its way through.'

"What's wrong with letting the message play?" Merrin asked, confused.

Greez was moving faster than Cal had ever seen him go before. "Well, if we let the message play, if it has a virus encoded into it-which these Imperial signals always do-then once onboard the _Mantis_ it'll be able to shut down every system on the ship and broadcast our location to the entire Imperial fleet." He was trying to stay calm, but Cal could tell he was starting to break.

"Is there anything we can do? Jump into hyperspace? Jam it?"

"No, kid, it's already in the ship. All we can do is find it, quarantine it, and hope to the Force or whatever your preferred deity is that it won't spread from there."

"Well how are we doing?"

"You hear those klaxons, kid?"

"Hard not to."

"That means bad. Real bad." Greez grumbled.

As if on cue, the lights turned out, casting the ship into darkness. The klaxons went out too, and an eerie silence fell over the ship. Before anyone could speace, the holotable suddenly activated, and a familiar face appeared.

"Cal Kestis, this is Saw Gerrera. Sorry to use such an aggressive message, but I need your assistance. Soon. I can't explain what it is here, but I've sent some coordinates along with this message. Come quickly, there may not be much time left."

And just ling that, the enigmatic leader of the Partisans vanished; a moment later the lights returned. The console in front of Greez began blinking. 

"These are coordinates. To the planet-oh, great. To the planet Kamino."


	2. Chapter 2

Rain crashed against the domed city, while the unending ocean churned below. It was otherwise quiet, any life drained out in the aftermath of the Clone Wars. Blaster marks pocketed the walls, the only memory of what had happened here. Saw knew, though. His exploits on Onderon had earned him great renown, and when the Kaminoans sensed the Empire's patronage was about to turn they called on him to save them. The Partisans arrived too late. Most of the planet's major cities had been bombarded into the depths. Only a few structures remained haphazardly standing in what was once the capital city. The imperial commander had seemingly decided the Kaminoans deserved a more personal ending, leading a frontal assault that brought an end to the ancient cloners.

Saw and the Partisans never intended to save the Kaminoans, of course, at least not permanently. In many ways they were responsible for the Empire's rise, for the Clone Wars, and for all the death across the galaxy. He still remembered when the clones betrayed him. A Separatist offensive to retake Onderon was being beaten back, and Saw was leading the charge. Tearing through metal war machines as the trees burned around him, death on all sides. He remembered how close they had been to victory, how he could smell it, taste it even. _An apt metaphor for the war as a whole_ , he mused. Then all of the sudden the clones seemed to change, their witty banter and lively disposition suddenly being washed a way by a mechanical callousness. All of the sudden Gerrera was now fight two droid armies, one metal, one flesh, his Jedi allies dead and Onderonian loyalists facing similar odds. So he fled, built a rebellion, and he killed every Imperial he found.

"General Gerrera?" one of his lieutenants, a woman named Mirienna, broke his reminiscence. She was a newer recruit, still uncomfortable with some of the Partisans more excessive strategies, but a loyal soldier nonetheless.

"What is it?" the General inquired sternly.

"Long range scanners have detected an incoming ship seems to be the Mantis."

Gerrera waved her off with a nod and a smile. He had been unsure whether or not the Jedi would accept his message. It had been a little aggressive. Then again, so were the Partisans. That's why he needed the Jedi. They had an art for subtlety Gerrera and his troops lacked. An art that, should all things go according to plan, was about to win the war.

* * *

The flight to Kamino was a quiet one. None of the crew knew Saw well, and the manner through which he contacted them didn't help his case. Greez was, as usual, quite restless, mumbling under his breath the whole flight long that they were walking into a trap. Merrin had only recently left her homeworld for the first time in nearly two decades, so her unease was understandable, if a little more intense than unusual. What shocked Cere the most was how off-balance Cal seemed to be. During the hunt for the holocron he had been focused and mostly self-assured, but ever since they had left Nur Cere could sense something was troubling his mind. It would have to wait, though. For now Cere had one problem to focus on-Saw Gerrera.

Cere had never been to Kamino, not even in the Clone Wars. She had rendezvoused with her battalion over Rothana and then gone off to war. She certainly knew the planet well-at least, well enough-having heard plenty of stories of the storm battered ocean world. As the Mantis dropped beneath the cloud cover, though, Cere was met by an unexpected and uncomfortable sight.

A half dozen towers jutted out of the seas, topped of with vast domed cities. Most domes had some type of superficial damage, with tears in the cover revealing the cities' innards. A few domes had actually been knocked off their bases, colliding into each other in what must have no doubt been a terrifying and awe-inspiring event. These would have been disconcerting in ideal circumstances, but what really made Cere's blood run cold was the dozens and dozens of broken bases, jagged spires piercing through the dark and tumultuous deep. Every one of those shards of metal had once held a vast city above, bustling with life. Every shard was a gravestone of thousands.

The landing wasn't too difficult, though Greez's anxiety led him to over-correct a few times. A flash of lightening along the port side nearly caused the overcautious Lateran to roll the ship, and it sent a beeping and terrified BD-1 across the console and straight into Cal's lap. It was only by the intervention of the Force itself that the small droid didn't press the wrong button and send them careening into the sea. Once the landing gear was safely on the rundown landing platform and Greez finally pried his fingers off the yoke Cere stood up.

"Alright everyone, listen up." The crew were soon fixated on the speaker before them, though the cramped cockpit made it difficult to stand and face them all. Cere would do her best.

"We know Saw. We know he's technically on our side. But don't let your guard down. Saw is a survivor. He is the survivor. He's betrayed closer friends than us before, so keep an eye out. Cal, you and Bee-Dee are with me", the droid whizzed excitedly. "Greez, you and Merrin stay and keep the ship running

"As long as she doesn't do any spells or sacrifices, that should be fine", Greez remarked, shifting a bit in his seat. 

"Don't work, Greez, I just need to perform a small blood ritual to the gods and we'll be alright. It shouldn't be too messy." Merrin responded, snidely.

"Ha ha. Very funny" Greez retorted, before hesitantly turning back. "That _was_ a joke, right?" 

Merrin just rolled her eyes.

"Play nice, Greez. Hopefully we won't be gone long. We just need to find out what Saw wants, then we'll be back. Ready Cal?"

"Oh yeah. It'll be nice to get out of this ship for a bit", Cal responded, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Hey, don't insult the Mantis!" Greez snapped.

"I didn't! I was just-Cere back me up here!" He sounded almost rueful.

"Sorry Cal, but you're on your own here." Cere said, smiling. Truth be told, she had to agree with the young Knight, it had only been a few days, but Cere already seemed to be developing a cramp. Some fresh air wouldn't hurt. Just as Cere was beginning to get caught up in a fantasy on Glee Anselm or Cantonica, Cal and Merrin stood up simultaneously, bumping straight into each other. This was followed by a chorus of awkward laughter and mumbled apologies, which normally wouldn't be cause for alarm, but something was off. The way Merrin brushed her hair behind her ear, how red Cal's face became in just a few seconds. Not a priority-Saw was at the forefront of Cere's mind-but still, something to meditate on later.

* * *

As Cal stepped out of the Mantis and into the rain of Kamino, he was hit by an echo in the Force. Well, he was first hit by the rain, then the echo. It wasn't just one echo, though, it was several, all collided on top of one another. The oldest was of a man, frenzied and afraid, fearing betrayal at every turn, who had come here to Kamino to do what he thought was right. The next was of a different man, a calmer, more diplomatic one, who had come to Kamino searching for answers. After that came a barrage of memories, momentarily blocking Cal's other senses. It was mostly of clones, men bread for war and death. Some were of training drills, complaints about rations, ruminations on the beauty of the rain, bonds forged under fire, and friendships that could withstand even war. But there was also a growing darkness, an insidious plot, an instrument of vengeance, a dark shadow growing larger and larger, consuming everything on the planet. Cal felt his heart begin to race. Suddenly Kamino seemed to melt away, the walls of a star destroyer building up around him. Blue laser fire sizzled around him. Cal barely noticed his breath begin to escape. The soldiers he had befriended and trained with turned on him once more. Friendships were broken, sliced in apart by a lightsaber. Cal barely noticed his body crumple to the floor. _Maybe there's something more I could've done_. _Maybe its my fault they turned on me. Maybe its my fault Jaro Tapal is dead._

"Cal!" He had barely noticed Cere shaking him awake, a look of concern on her face.

"Cal what happened? Are you alright?"

"Its my psychometry", he responded, trying to catch his breath. "Too many echo's, too many memories. I, I couldn't control it."

"Do you need to go back to the Mantis?" Cere said, helping him back up.

"No, no I'm okay. I think, I think I just got overwhelmed for a moment. I haven't used it in a while, so, that's probably what happened."

Cere looked at him dubiously, before sighing.

"All right, but if you start going down again, then I'm telling Bee-Dee to get you back to the ship."

Bee-Dee beeped affirmatively from his roost on Cal's back. There wasn't any reason to argue this, so Cal relented and the two marched onward, into the belly of the beast.

There was no power remaining in any of the buildings, aside from the occasional electric spark. They had barely passed through the main entrance before Cal could no longer see his hand in front of his face. The Kaminoans, it seemed, were not big on windows, and had relied exclusively on artificial light. Lucky for Cal and Cere, both Jedi carried a mobile artificial light. With a flick of a button a warm amber light cut through the darkness, joined soon after by Cere's appropriated crimson blade. Together the two Jedi ventured deeper and deeper into the abandoned city.

Cal would readily admit that he was feeling more than a little uneasy. All around there were clear signs of battle-blaster scorch, damaged paneling, gashes in the walls and ceiling-yet not a single corpse or lost blaster. Whatever had happened had there was cleaned up thoroughly. It was unsettling just how thorough they had been, however. Whatever happened to Kamino was something the attackers wished to keep under wraps. Cal could sense Cere's growing anxiety as well as the two moved down the abandoned hallways. He was grateful for BD-1's presence, the droid offering, if not safety, companionship.

"Why couldn't Saw just tell us where in this massive abandoned city he was hiding? That way we wouldn't have to worry about navigating a disintegrating ruin." As if to illustrate Cal's point the dome began to creak, and a loud groan seemed to signify something large breaking off.

"Saw seems like the type to keep a very low profile. Maybe too low." It was Greez over the radio, their only lifeline outside of the building.

"I don't know, Greez", Cere responded. "Maybe some of us Jedi could learn a thing or two from him."

It was a joke, but also held a big grain of truth. Or several grains. However that works. While many Jedi fell in the initial clone onslaught, many more were hunted down and exterminated in the aftermath. Cal and Cere were some of the lucky few, perhaps even the last of the Jedi.

"Well, wherever he is, I hope he shows his-" a movement, sensed through the Force, cut his response short. A quick look at Cere confirmed she felt it too. Slowly the inched together back to back, blades raised. The hallway was fairly cramped, and their wouldn't be much room to fight. Hopefully it was a friendly Partisan, but Cal wasn't so sure.

There was a clinking sound in the darkness, the two turning to face it as it approached. Cal reached out through the Force, but he was still so shaken up from the landing bay he couldn't focus. They'd have to improvise. Luckily, Cal was an expert at improvisation.

"Saw? Is that you? We got your message, we haven't come to fight", Cere called down the hallway. The clinking stopped. For a moment time stood still. Part of Cal's brain was urging him to run, but the other half told him to stay put. Mind games seemed like something Caw would specialize in, even against his own allies. Maybe it was a test? The Partisans weren't the friendliest, so Cal couldn't deny the possibility. Finally, a familiar voice called out.

"Cal Kestis. Cere Junda. I was beginning to worry you hadn't gotten my message." Saw Gerrera stepped out of the darkness with a smile. It was friendly, but his eyes betrayed him. They were analyzing the two Jedi, distrustful of them. Cal slowly lowered his saber, hoping to appear friendly but not weak.

"Glad to see you made it off Kashyyyk in one piece. I was worried that Imperial blockade would trouble you."

"Imperial blockades are nothing for my pilots. We run them for fun", he responded with a laugh, slowly circling the two Jedi. From the shadows a handful of other Partisans emerged, each clearly the veteran of many a campaign.

"While I'm glad to hear you're alright, Saw, surely there was a better way to contact us than shutting down our ship", Cere added, her words kind, her tone less so. Still, Saw laughed it off.

"Well if I had sent you a normal communication, would you have believed it was me?" It was a surprisingly valid point. Cal hadn't known Saw long, but he didn't seem the man to send a simple encrypted message. When he called, he wanted you to come. And, well, here they were.

"How's the little purple one, Greece, was it?"

"Greez! It's Greez! Purple one." Greez practically barked through the commlink, so loud Saw could actually here him and Cere and Cal winced.

"My apologies, captain. You are a truly talented pilot."

"I-uh-thank you, I suppose", the Lateran clearly not sure how to respond.

Cere stepped forward practically on top of the Partisan.

"Lets skip the pleasantries and get to why you've called us here, Saw." Clearly Cere was not interested in trading mild conversation, and Cal had to agree with her.

"To the point, I see. Very well, I suppose I owe the two of you an answer." He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the was illuminated by dozens of portable lamps. At least a dozen more Partisans had been hiding in the darkness, now blinking wildly to adjust to the flood of light. Cal found himself doing the same thing as he tucked his saber back onto his belt.

"Walk with me, Jedi", Saw said turning, not giving them any chance to argue. Cal looked at Cere, who responded with a slight nod, and the two marched carefully after the rebel.

:I would like to tell you a story, if you don't mind." Once Saw realized the Jedi were open to listening, he continued. "I was born on Onderon, a beautiful Jungle world in the Inner Rim. For years I lived in peace with my sister in the walls of the capital, Iziz. We were a peaceful planet, no reason to fight. But then the war came. The Separatists seized my planet, imprisoned the king, and forced a puppet dictatorship upon us. So my sister and I formed a resistance. We struck back against the invaders wherever we could. But we were disorganized, untrained, unready. In a desperate gamble I appealed to the Jedi Council for help. I never expected anything substantial to come of it, perhaps a few weapons and supplies, but nothing more. So imagine my surprise when the Order deployed three of its greatest Jedi to assist us. They helped forge us into an organized resistance, helped me become a leader and, eventually, liberate Onderon." Saw had real smile, that of a man reliving his glorious past. But suddenly the smile faded and, for the first time since he Cal met him, Saw looked sad.

"My sister was killed in the fighting. She gave her life so the Onderon could be free. I swore, from that day forth, that I would never give in. That I would fight to see the galaxy free, whatever the cost. And I did fight. For years I fought. Against the Separatists, the Clones, and now the Empire. But I would never have succeeded without the assistance of the Jedi. Without them I'd likely be a corpse in a foxhole back on Onderon. Their destruction was one of the greatest evils inflicted on the galaxy. But we have a chance to reverse that." Saw was smiling again, but rather than a peaceful reminiscence, it was a smile of pure determination, of a plan approaching its final steps.

"Saw that's a touching anecdote, but I have to ask; how exactly are _you_ going to help rebuild the Jedi Order," Cere asked, her voice increasingly impatient.

The group and their Partisan escort reached a door that seemed to still have power, with a small green light blinking above it.

"My good Jedi friend, I won't do anything. Did you truly believe I brought you to the greatest cloning facility in the galaxy for no reason?"

The door swung open, revealing dozens of elliptical glass containers filled with a strange blue liquid suspended from the ceiling. They were connected in clumps of five, each jar pointing outwards, with more that twenty of the clumps throughout the large, circular room. It took Cal a moment to realize what they were. _Cloning vats._ Saw Gerrera was going to make a clone army. Of Jedi. Somehow.

"This facility was the only one that survived the Empire's attack on Kamino", Saw began. "The rest of the facilities were destroyed. We can't build an army quite on the scale of the GAR, but if we could clone Jedi, well, that would be all we need to end the Empire. Think of it. An army of Jedi, united to restore the Republic!"

The idea of cloning Jedi hadn't once crossed Cal's mind, but now that he thought about it, it might actually be the best option to restore the Order. Rather than kidnap children and put their lives in danger for a cause that might fail. Still, Cal was uncomfortable with the thought of creating life just to enslave it, even if it was for a good cause. Was that really any different than what the Empire had done to the clone soldiers of the Republic?

"Saw, i don't know. The ethical implications of cloning are, well, not great."

"Cal, I don't know if you've seen the galaxy recently, but it is _not great_. Thousands of worlds live under the thumb of the Empire. Millions of lives have been extinguished on the orders of Palpatine. These clones could kickstart the new Jedi Order. Kickstart the rebellion."

Something was off in the way Saw was speaking. There was something he wasn't telling them, some nugget of information he was withholding. Cal could sense something darker at work.

"Now before you ask, no, I don't need your DNA to make a clone army. We already have that under control. The only problem is the shut down codes. The laboratory is completely locked down, and we can't brute force our way in unless we have a spare few centuries. What I need you to do is recover the codes from an Imperial databank."

"Alright. Let's say we agree. Where might this databank be?" Cal was still uncertain, but he'd play along. For now. BD-1 cooed softly, expressing his own concern.

"Well that is a problem. We don't know. But we do know someone who does."

"Great, so why can't you get them. Why do you need Jedi?"

Saw moved carefully alongside Cal, leaning in to half-whisper.

"We need someone skilled in subtlety. My contact happens to be in a very well guarded Imperial facility."

"This facility wouldn't happen to be a prison camp", Cere interjected with a sigh. Saw just chuckled.

"Look at that. You're learning."

"Where are we going. Who are we looking for?"

"I'm glad you asked, Cal." Saw stepped back once again and, with an outstretched arm, pointed towards a door. It opened, and through it walked-well, stumbled-a green protocol droid with green armor so clean it could reflect the entire room and empty, buglike eyes that made the hair on Cal's neck stand up.

"Greetings", the machine began, in a high pitched, excessively friendly tone. "I am OLL-133, your perfect personal assistant. I am programed in etiquette, diplomacy, general translation, violence, and mechanics!"

"What-violence? Did he say he was trained in violence?" To Cal that seemed like, well, the last thing anyone would program a protocol droid for.

"That is correct, master Jedi!" it continued in its brutally optimistic tone. "My creators designed me to appear nonthreatening, while in reality being able to successfully engage as many as sixty organics at a time, provided external conditions are conductive to an optimal combat engagement."

"Ollie here is an excellent shot, a loyal companion, and the only thing I trust to send with you." Saw remarked, giving the droid a slap on the shoulder.

"Trust?" Cere added skeptically.

"Forgive me for being suspicious, but the naive are often the most dangerous allies. Ollie will make sure you remain on target."

"Really, Saw, that's not necassary." Cal did not trust this droid. Anything that acted this friendly was probably up to some evil machinations.

But the old Partisan just shrugged.

"We'll see."

Cal was about to protest some more when he felt his head begin to drag. His hair began to stand up its ends, his breathing quickening with his heart. Unlike his feelings towards Merrin, this was an emotion he knew well. Fear. But it wasn't his it was someone else's. Something else's. Before Cal could speak, one of the Partisans called out.

"General, long range scanners detect a large object coming out of hyperspace. It looks like a star destroyer!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much longer than the last, apologies. Just trying to get stuff rolling. Again, any comments and criticisms welcome, have a swell day and keep it real

**Author's Note:**

> First time ever writing anything like this, so comments and criticism welcome


End file.
